


A Watcher's Dream

by spikesredqueen



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-25
Updated: 2014-05-25
Packaged: 2018-01-26 12:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1689062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spikesredqueen/pseuds/spikesredqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Giles can no longer watch what he cannot have. (Set somewhere between season 4 & 5 before Buffy vs. Dracula.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Watcher's Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by okdeanna.

A watcher’s dream, that’s what Willow Rosenberg embodied.  Knowledgeable about the world outside the norm, the world most never survived.  

Willow herself wasn’t of the norm, though, was she?  She was extraordinary on many levels.   

She helped Buffy, not because she had to, but because she felt it was the right thing to do. 

On some counts, Giles found Willow’s continued courage through the years greater than Buffy’s.  Buffy was the Slayer, after all, the chosen one who was built to battle the forces of darkness and Willow… she chose her own fate.  She learned the skills needed for survival, studying texts on demons and magic. 

Giles stood in his kitchen, peering through the open serving window that gave him a clear view of the living room.  He silently admired Willow who sat next to Xander on the worn sofa, enjoying the company of her friends.  Her family.  

 _His_ family.

As he watched her and the rest go on about their day and their plans for tomorrow, Giles knew he needed to distance himself before he did something he shouldn’t.  Not with her.  As it were, his affections would be unwanted and unreturned. 

In the back of his mind, Giles knew he shouldn’t be feeling such things for Willow, but it couldn’t be helped.  He was a man, a human who made mistakes, and these feelings toward the young redhead were most definitely a mistake.  Willow wasn’t just a Watcher’s dream, but a man’s as well. 

She had grown into such a beautiful woman in just a few short years and every day, she became more so.  It wasn’t supposed to happen and yet, it seems that the Powers the Be played the cruelest joke of all.  They made him fall in love with a woman who could never possible love him in return. 

The tea kettle whistled and with a regretful sigh, Giles returned to the task he went into the kitchen to tackle.  As he did so, he thought about leaving Sunnydale and returning to London.It was time. Past time. He had to get a few things settled first, of course, but leaving soon seemed the best option. 

Buffy had grown enough to no longer need his guidance as a Watcher, and Willow no longer needed him as a teacher.  He’d done his duty and it was time to take his leave. 

He was never going to be ready to say goodbye.


End file.
